Network assisted device to device communication

ABSTRACT

A technology for a user equipment (UE) that is operable to communicate in a device to device (D2D) network. A D2D coordinator selection assignment can be determined. A D2D bandwidth allocation request can be received from at least one D2D UE. Bandwidth can be scheduled for the at least one D2D UE. A D2D bandwidth allocation message can be communicated to at least one D2D UE within the D2D network to enable the at least one D2D UE to determine when bandwidth is allocated for the at least one D2D UE to communicate with another D2D UE in the D2D network.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of and hereby incorporates by reference U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/821,635, filed May 9, 2013, with an attorney docket number P56618Z.

BACKGROUND

Increased use of mobile devices, such as smartphones and tablets, with an expanding number of wireless services offered on the devices, such as streaming video, have placed increased data loads and throughput requirements on wireless networks. To handle the increasing amount of wireless services to an increasing numbers of users, various multiple antenna techniques can be employed in wireless network environments to meet the increasing data and throughput demands.

To handle the increasing amount of wireless services to an increasing numbers of users, efficient use of the available radio network resources has become important. Device to device (D2D) communications allows mobile users to directly communicate with each other, thereby reducing the load on the radio network resources. The D2D communication can occur when closely located devices are enabled to communicate with each other directly instead of using a conventional communications links such as a Wi-Fi or cellular communications system. Some types of D2D communications are enhanced by cellular communication systems, thereby requiring the D2D communications service to be within range of a cellular communications system, such as an enhanced node B (eNB). However, there are situations for D2D communications where the eNB is unavailable or inefficient for channel allocation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent from the detailed description which follows, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which together illustrate, by way of example, features of the disclosure; and, wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates a centralized scheduling scheme with a central controller and a UE in accordance with an example;

FIG. 2 illustrates a downlink radio frame structure in accordance with an example;

FIG. 3 illustrates a D2D communications system using an eNB with independent and localized D2D connections in accordance with an example;

FIG. 4 illustrates a group of paired UE devices in a D2D communications systems in accordance with an example;

FIG. 5 illustrates contention scheduling in accordance with an example;

FIG. 6 illustrates D2D scheduling by a coordinator in accordance with an example;

FIG. 7 illustrates a coordinator scheduling process in accordance with an example;

FIG. 8 depicts the functionality of the computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 9 depicts the functionality of the computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 10 depicts the functionality of the computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network in accordance with an example;

FIG. 11 illustrates a flow chart of a method for coordinating D2D communication in accordance with an example.

FIG. 12 illustrates a diagram of a UE in accordance with an example.

Reference will now be made to the exemplary embodiments illustrated, and specific language will be used herein to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope of the invention is thereby intended.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that this invention is not limited to the particular structures, process steps, or materials disclosed herein, but is extended to equivalents thereof as would be recognized by those ordinarily skilled in the relevant arts. It should also be understood that terminology employed herein is used for the purpose of describing particular examples only and is not intended to be limiting. The same reference numerals in different drawings represent the same element. Numbers provided in flow charts and processes are provided for clarity in illustrating steps and operations and do not necessarily indicate a particular order or sequence.

In a D2D communications system there are several D2D communication system schemes where multiple mobile equipment devices, such as user equipment (UE), can directly communicate with each other and/or communicate with a cellular communications system, such as an eNB or base station.

One D2D communication system scheme is a centralized scheduling scheme that has a central controller, such as an eNB or a base station, receiving transmission requests from all of the UEs in the D2D communications system. The cellular communications system can comprise of one or more cellular network nodes and one or more Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11-2012 configured access points. In one embodiment, the one or more cellular networks may be 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) Rel. 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 networks and/or IEEE 802.16p, 802.16n, 802.16m-2011, 802.16h-2010, 802.16j-2009, 802.16-2009 based networks. The controller can be configured to take all the requests into account and broadcast a D2D communications schedule to all of the UEs. One advantage of broadcasting a D2D communications schedule to all of the UEs is that it combines multiple rounds of distributed contentions between D2D devices into one round and reduces the contention overhead.

FIG. 1 illustrates one embodiment of centralized scheduling scheme that uses a centralized controller 110. The centralized controller may be located at, or embedded in a portion of a cellular communication system, such as an eNB or a base station. The centralized controller 110 in the centralized scheduling scheme can comprise of a transceiver 120 and a computer processor 130. FIG. 1 also illustrates that the UE 140 can comprise a transceiver 150 and a computer processor 160.

D2D communication systems may provide mobile device users with better quality of service (QoS), new applications, and increased mobility support. To increase efficiency and reduce interference, UEs in a D2D system can synchronize their D2D communications. In one example, the UEs can be configured to synchronize within the D2D network using a radio frame structure, transmitted on a physical (PHY) layer in a downlink or uplink transmission between an eNB and a UE. In one embodiment, the D2D communications may occur on a licensed band for communications. In one embodiment a 3GPP LTE frame structure is used for the synchronization. In one embodiment, the one or more cellular networks may a 3GPP LTE Rel. 8, 9, 10, 11, or 12 network and/or a IEEE 802.16p, 802.16n, 802.16m-2011, 802.16h-2010, 802.16j-2009, 802.16-2009 network.

FIG. 2 illustrates a 3GPP LTE downlink radio frame structure. In another embodiment, an uplink radio frame structure could similarly be used. In the example of the downlink radio frame structure, a radio frame 200 of a signal used to transmit the data can be configured to have a duration, Tf, of 10 milliseconds (ms). Each radio frame can be segmented or divided into ten subframes 210 i that are each 1 ms long. Each subframe can be further subdivided into two slots 220 a and 220 b, each with a duration, Tslot, of 0.5 ms. The first slot (#0) 220 a can include a legacy physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) 260 and/or a PDSCH 266, and the second slot (#1) 220 b can include data transmitted using the PDSCH.

Each slot for a component carrier (CC) used by the node and the wireless device can include multiple RBs 230 a, 230 b, 230 i, 230 m, and 230 n based on the CC frequency bandwidth. The CC can have a carrier frequency having a bandwidth and center frequency. Each subframe of the CC can include downlink control information (DCI) found in the legacy PDCCH. The legacy PDCCH in the control region can include one to three columns of the first OFDM symbols in each subframe or physical RB (PRB), when a legacy PDCCH is used. The remaining 11 to 13 OFDM symbols (or 14 OFDM symbols, when legacy PDCCH is not used) in the subframe may be allocated to the PDSCH for data (for short or normal cyclic prefix).

Each RB (physical RB or PRB) 230 i can include 12-15 kHz subcarriers 236 (on the frequency axis) and 6 or 7 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols 232 (on the time axis) per slot. The RB can use seven OFDM symbols if a short or normal cyclic prefix is employed. The RB can use six OFDM symbols if an extended cyclic prefix is used. The RB can be mapped to 84 resource elements (REs) 240 i using short or normal cyclic prefixing, or the RB can be mapped to 72 REs (not shown) using extended cyclic prefixing. The RE can be a unit of one OFDM symbol 242 by one subcarrier (i.e., 15 kHz) 246.

Each RE can transmit two bits 250 a and 250 b of information in the case of quadrature phase-shift keying (QPSK) modulation. Other types of modulation may be used, such as 16 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) or 64 QAM to transmit a greater number of bits in each RE, or bi-phase shift keying (BPS K) modulation to transmit a lesser number of bits (a single bit) in each RE. The RB can be configured for a downlink transmission from the eNB to the UE, or the RB can be configured for an uplink transmission from the UE to the eNB.

While communicating each other, each UE can switch between transmission and reception modes for sending and receiving messages, respectively. In one embodiment, D2D communications can be performed during the uplink band communications period of a cellular network. In this embodiment, the sequential switching between the transmission and reception modes may enable UEs to perform D2D communications during the uplink band communications period of a cellular network. During the downlink band communication period, the eNB transmits with a relatively high power relative to the signals transmitted by UEs. This high power signal can cause significant interference to a UE that is transmitting with a lower power signal. However, during the uplink band communication period, only other UEs transmit with the lower power signals. Transmitting during the uplink communication band can enable D2D communications to occur with significantly lower amounts of interference.

Another D2D communication system scheme using an IEEE 802.11 wireless fidelity (WiFi) system is a distributed channel access scheme, such as a carrier access (CA) scheme or carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) scheme. A distributed CA scheme can be robust and flexible for deployment, but the scheduling efficiency may not be as high as the centralized scheduling efficiency used by cellular system. Additionally for a distributed scheduling scheme, after paying some contention overhead, each pair of UEs only schedules their own transmission even though the UE pair may also overhear other UEs' transmission requests and can coordinate with the other UE pairs. Additionally, for a D2D communication system scheme that uses WiFi, transmissions between the D2D devices are scheduled burst to burst.

For burst to burst scheduling, a D2D receiver is typically on all of the time in an awake mode because it does not know when packets will arrive. Having a D2D device continually in an awake mode incurs high power consumption. In addition, because the WiFi transmission power does not adapt to the link distance, WiFi can waste transmission power and cause an increased amount of interference. In the distributed CA scheme, after forfeiting some contention overhead, each pair of UEs can schedule their own transmission, even though the UE pair may also overhear other UEs' transmission requests and can help the others.

There are situations for D2D communications where it is suboptimal to use a centralized scheduling scheme or a distributed channel access scheme for D2D communications, such as if the eNB or WiFi is unavailable or inefficient for channel allocation. FIG. 3 illustrates one embodiment of a D2D communications system using an eNB with several independent, localized D2D connections. One example of the D2D connections depicted in FIG. 3 is D2D cluster #1 310. D2D cluster #1 310 depicts direct communication among UEs, such as two UEs. For D2D cluster #1 310, UE 340 and UE 350 are in direct communication with each other. D2D cluster #1 310 is also in communication with a cellular communications system, such as eNB 330. In one embodiment, D2D cluster #1 310 may be assisted by the eNB 330 in communicating data or information in a cellular network. In another embodiment, D2D cluster #1 310 may be assisted by the eNB 330 in synchronizing or setting up the direct D2D communications between UE 340 and UE 350.

In another example, D2D cluster #2 320 depicts a plurality of D2D devices such as UEs 360, 370, and 380 that are in D2D communications with each other. In one embodiment, UE 360 and UE 380 are in direct communication with UE 370. In another embodiment, UE 360 and UE 380 may be in indirect D2D communication with each other via an intermediary D2D communications device such as UE 370. In another embodiment, D2D cluster #2 320 can also be in communication with eNB 330. In one embodiment, D2D cluster #2 320 may be assisted by the eNB 330 in communicating data or information in a cellular network. In another embodiment, D2D cluster #2 320 may be assisted by the eNB 330 in synchronizing or assisting in setting up the direct or indirect D2D communications between UE 360, UE 370, and/or UE 380.

In another example of a communications environment in FIG. 3, UEs, such as UE 390, may be in direct communication with the eNB 330 and/or in indirect D2D communications with other D2D devices in the cellular network. In one example, one UE 390 may be in indirect D2D communication with another UE 395 via the eNB 330. In another example, UE 390 may be in indirect D2D communication with D2D cluster #1 310 and/or D2D cluster #2 320. In another example, D2D cluster #1 310 may be in indirect D2D communications with D2D cluster #2 320.

The network assisted D2D communications between the D2D devices in FIG. 3 may cause mutual interfering between the D2D device communications. In one embodiment, a network assisted based D2D communications system may not work for public safety environments and the D2D UEs may have to communicate with no cellular network or WiFi network assistance. In another embodiment, an eNB or base station can be aware of the location of the D2D UEs so that an area or location can be allocated for D2D communications.

In one embodiment, coordinated D2D scheduling can be used for the channel access in a distributed D2D network. In one embodiment, coordinated D2D scheduling for the channel access in a distributed D2D network allows a D2D UE to be selected as the D2D resource allocation scheduler for D2D communications. One advantage of coordinated D2D scheduling can be the ability to use the received information for each D2D device and the ability to send multiple decisions at one time. Since involved UEs also overhear others' transmission requests in the distributed scheduling during contention period, the received information can be exploited to improve the scheduling efficiency.

For public safety situations, coordinated D2D scheduling can be advantageous because the D2D devices in a coordinated D2D scheduling system can use a preamble for time and/or frequency synchronization, e.g. the D2D devices do not rely on a cellular system or WiFi system for time and/or frequency synchronization. The advantages of coordinated D2D scheduling can also include: a reduction in collision probability, because a D2D device is selected as a scheduler for a period; no additional complexity is introduced to the selected scheduler, e.g. the scheduler can be a normal D2D device with low complexity; minimizing the power consumption for transmission and idle modes; and flexible channel allocation, e.g. variable size of resource allocation and support of spatial reuse.

FIG. 4 shows a group of paired UE devices in a D2D communications system 400. In FIG. 4, there are transmit (Tx) UEs, i.e. UEs that transmit a data packet, and receive (Rx) UEs, i.e. UEs that receive a data packet. In one embodiment, there is at least one Tx UE and RX UE pair in a D2D communications system 400. FIG. 4 illustrates three Tx UE and Rx UE pairs: tx1 410 is paired with rx1 420; tx2 430 is paired with rx2 440; and tx3 450 is paired with rx3 460. In one embodiment, there is a link between each Tx UE and Rx UE pair. In one embodiment, each link with one Tx UE and one Rx UE can be assigned a distinct connection ID (CID). In another embodiment, a Tx UE may communicate with a plurality of Rx UEs, where each Rx UE is assigned a distinct CID for the link between the Rx UE and the Tx UE. In one embodiment, contention scheduling occurs for D2D communications for a Tx UE and an Rx UE pair. In one embodiment, there is a defined or selected threshold for the number of D2D UEs and/or D2D UE pairs in a D2D communications system 400.

FIG. 5 illustrates one embodiment for contention scheduling. In one embodiment, resources are allocated for D2D data communication, wherein the allocated resources may include data transmission slots or traffic slots 510. For each traffic slot 510, there is a contention scheduling header 520 made up of a transmit block 530 (Tx-Block) and a receive block 540 (Rx-Block), such as a tone matrix 550. The contention scheduling header 520 enables UEs to contend for a data segment. Each Tx UE and Rx UE pair can be assigned a unique connection ID (CID) and allocated a tone-pair, one in Tx-block 530 and one in Rx-block 540. When the Tx UE has data to send, the Tx UE can send a signal on the tone of the Tx-block as a request, and if the Rx UE wants to acknowledge it, the Rx UE can send a signal on the tone of the Rx-block. When the Tx UE receives an acknowledgement signal, the Tx UE can send data in a data segment 560.

To resolve the contention when multiple Tx UEs want to send data, different priorities can be assigned to each tone, so that the Tx UE with a higher-priority tone will have a higher or increased probability of having a resource allocated for its data transmission. In one embodiment, tone-CID mapping can be randomized slot-by-slot to guarantee the fairness among Tx UEs.

In one embodiment, for a group of D2D devices, the tone priority and/or resource allocation can be determined for a period of time, T_(coordination), by a coordinating device (coordinator). In one embodiment, the coordinator can be a Tx UE or an Rx UE. In one embodiment, T_(coordination) can be 1-2 seconds in duration. In one embodiment, the coordinator can be selected using defined criteria. For example, each active D2D UE can be assigned as a coordinator by using a defined coordinator order or list based on the device IDs of each D2D devices. For instance, the D2D UE with the highest or lowest device ID can be assigned as the first coordinator and then proceeding down the list to assign subsequent coordinators.

In another embodiment, a predecessor coordinator can select a successor coordinator randomly from the list of active D2D devices. For example, a previous coordinator can select another D2D UE as the next coordinator in a D2D network. In one embodiment, the initial or first coordinator is the Rx UE with the highest priority of the Rx UEs within a contention. In another embodiment, an eNB or base station of a cellular network can assign the first coordinator. In one embodiment, the previous coordinator can broadcast, unicast, or transmit the coordinator selection to the UEs in the D2D network. In another embodiment, the next or selected coordinator can broadcast, unicast, or transmit the coordinator selection to the UEs in the D2D network after the coordinator has been selected.

In another embodiment, for each contention, a UE, such as an Rx UE or a Tx UE, with the highest priority of the UEs within a contention can be assigned as coordinator. In one embodiment, the priority may be determined using the CID assigned to each UE. For example, the Rx UE with the lowest number or first assigned CID may have the highest priority. In another example, each UE priority is randomly mapped to each UE's CID. In one embodiment, where the coordinator is determined based on the priority mapped to the UE's CID, there is no coordinator assignment received by the UE, as the UE can independently determine whether it is the coordinator based on its priority.

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of D2D scheduling using a coordinator. In this embodiment, an Rx UE detects the CID codes 610 of other Rx UEs in a first symbol to find the Rx UE's CID code 610. In one embodiment, where the Rx UE detects the CID codes 610 of the other Rx UEs, the Rx UE can also receive the information about other Rx UE bandwidth requests (BW Reqs), such as BW Reqs 630, 640, and 650. In one embodiment, the Rx UE has the highest priority and is assigned as the coordinator. As the coordinator, the Rx UE may allocate resources for other UEs and/or for its own communications. One advantage of the coordinator being selected by a previous coordinator over selecting the coordinator based on priority is a decrease in power consumption. In one embodiment, the power consumption can be decreased since, for coordinator selection based on CID priority, each UE decodes the CID codes before knowing if the UE is the coordinator, which consumes additional power.

In one embodiment for a contention window, each Tx UE that has a data or control message to send can transmit a BW Req message to the coordinator. The BW Reqs, such as BW Reqs 630, 640, and 650, of each Tx UE can include parameters or information such as one or more CIDs and/or a requested resource size. In one embodiment, spatial reuse or multicasting can be used and multiple CIDs can be scheduled for the same resource block. In another embodiment, each CID can be mapped to a unique priority level so that CIDs can be sorted based on the priority order.

In one embodiment, the BW Req for a Tx UE with a link that has a high priority can be responded to before a BW Req for a Tx UE with a link with a lower priority. In one embodiment, a priority level can be mapped to a CID to enable each UE to have an equal opportunity to communicate data. For example, the priority mapping may periodically be randomized so that each Tx UE and Rx UE pair has equal opportunity to access a channel to communicate data. In another embodiment, a priority level is mapped to a CID based on QoS.

Upon detecting or receiving BW Reqs, the coordinator can allocate a communications channel based on the priority level of each bandwidth request. When the coordinator has allocated the communications channel, the coordinator can transmit or broadcast a bandwidth (BW) grant message 630 to UEs in the D2D network. In one embodiment, the active UEs in the D2D network can be configured to wake up to receive the BW grant message. Each UE can determine whether resources have been allocated for the UE to transmit and/or receive data. In one embodiment, if no resources have been allocated for the UE to transmit and/or receive data then the UE can enter or re-enter a sleep mode.

In one embodiment, a BW grant message can include one or more BW allocation messages, where each BW allocation message is for one or more scheduled CIDs. In one embodiment, a BW allocation message can include the starting point of the resource allocation and/or the size of resource allocation scheduled for a CID(s). In one embodiment where spatial reuse is used, multiple CIDs can be scheduled on the same resource allocation.

In one embodiment, a data channel or data windows 692 and 694 can follow the resource allocation that occurs during a contention window. In one embodiment, during a data channel window at least one Tx UE and Rx UE pair wake up at a specified time to communicate data 680 or 690. In one example, Tx UEs can transmit data packets, such as Data 680 and 690, during an allocated resource period using a defined transmit power for a defined duration, and the other Tx UEs and Rx UEs that are not scheduled for that resource allocation can go into a sleep mode to save power until the resource allocation period for each respective UE arrives. In another example, UEs with no data to communicate can be configured to only wake up during the contention windows to receive the resource allocation schedule. The UEs can be configured to be in sleep mode the remainder of the time.

In one embodiment, a UE can be configured to only be active or awake to receive a BW grant message if the UE does not have data to communicate or if the UE is not selected as the coordinator. One advantage of the UEs that are not selected as coordinators and that do not have data to communicate, so that they only wake up to receive a BW grant message, is that they have a significant power savings as compared to WiFi based D2D communications system with sequential burst-by-burst contentions, where the UE must be awake all the time to receive communications.

In one embodiment, a coordinator may not receive a BW Req due to poor link quality between the coordinator and the Tx UE. If a BW Req is not received by the coordinator or the BW Req is below a quality threshold, no bandwidth is allocated for the respective Tx UE while the coordinator is selected as the current coordinator. In one embodiment, the Tx UE can determine that the coordinator did not receive the bandwidth request by receiving a signal from the coordinator and measuring the received signal power of the coordinator's signal. In one embodiment, the Tx UE can enter sleep mode until a new coordinator is selected. The Tx UE may enter sleep mode to save power. In one embodiment, because active D2D UEs alternate as the coordinator, fair or equal transmission opportunity for each UE can still be achieved.

In one embodiment, Tx UEs and/or Rx UEs can use an allocated channel to perform power control and/or link adaptation. For example, a first portion of an allocated resource for a Tx and Rx pair may be used by the Tx UE to send a reference signal 660 and/or an Rx UE to feedback 670 a channel estimation, timing/frequency synchronization, power control, link adaptation, and/or MIMO feedback. In one embodiment, the D2D link can use the part of the existing power adjustment and/or CQI/RI/PMI feedback mechanism developed for a cellular system.

In one embodiment, spatial reuse may be used for D2D communication. For example, in a contention window, an Rx UE with a higher priority CID may detect or determine that there is another Tx UE that has no interference or negligible interference to the RX UE receiving data from the Tx receiver that the Rx UE is actively linked to. When the Rx UE determines the other Tx UE will not cause any interference or will cause interference below a selected or defined threshold, the Rx UE can communicate with the other Tx UE using an exchanging control message to inform the other Tx UE that it may use spatial reuse for D2D communications. In one embodiment, a Tx UE can include an additional CID as a spatial reuse pair in its BW Req message. The coordinator can account for the allowable reuse pair(s) that cause interference below a defined threshold in scheduling the transmissions or for D2D Tx UE and Rx UE pair communications scheduling. For example, the coordinator can allocate the same resource block to multiple links that can tolerate the interference from the other D2D UEs.

FIG. 7 illustrates one embodiment of a coordinator scheduling process. In FIG. 7, Rx3 UE 710 has been assigned as the coordinator 710. In this example, in the bandwidth request stage 770, Tx1 UE 730, Tx2 UE 760, and Tx3 UE 720 can each send the coordinator 710 a D2D bandwidth allocation request. The coordinator 710 can then schedule bandwidth for a link between Rx1 UE 740 and Tx1 UE 730 and a link between Rx2 UE 750 and Tx2 UE 760. In the bandwidth grant stage 780, the coordinator 710 can then communicate the bandwidth allocation message to each of the Rx UEs and Tx UEs that have bandwidth allocated for D2D communication.

In the embodiment in FIG. 7, the link between Rx3 UE 720 and Tx3 UE 710 does not have bandwidth scheduled for data communication. In one example, no bandwidth may be scheduled for the link between Tx3 UE 710 and Rx3 UE 720 because Tx3 UE 710 may not have any data to communicate with Rx3 UE 720. In another example, no bandwidth may be scheduled for the link between Tx3 UE 710 and Rx3 UE 720 because the link between Tx3 UE 710 and Rx3 UE 720 may not have a priority high enough for the coordinator 710 to schedule a D2D communication between Tx3 UE 710 and Rx3 UE 720. In the data and control transmission stage 790, each of the link Tx UE and Rx UE pairs, i.e. Tx1 UE 730 paired with Rx2 UE 740 and Tx2 UE 760 paired with Rx2 750, can each communicate data during the pair's allocated bandwidth period.

Another example provides functionality 800 of computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 8. The functionality can be implemented as a method or the functionality can be executed as instructions on a machine, where the instructions are included on at least one computer readable medium or one non-transitory machine readable storage medium. The computer circuitry can be configured to determine a D2D coordinator selection assignment, as in block 810. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry can be configured to determine the D2D coordinator selection assignment by receiving the D2D coordinator selection assignment from a previous D2D coordinator or an eNB. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry can be configured to determine the D2D coordinator selection assignment based on the UE having the highest priority ranking of the UEs in the D2D network. The computer circuitry can be further configured to receive a D2D bandwidth allocation request from at least one D2D UE, as in block 820.

The computer circuitry can also be configured to schedule bandwidth for the at least one D2D UE, as in block 830. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry can be configured to schedule bandwidth for the at least one D2D UE based on a priority level of the D2D bandwidth allocation request from the least one D2D UE. In another embodiment, the D2D bandwidth allocation request can include a distinct connection identification (CID) for a link between the D2D coordinator and the at least one D2D UE and a size of a D2D bandwidth allocation. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry can be configured to map the CID to a selected randomly determined priority level for the at least one D2D UE. The computer circuitry can also be configured to communicate a D2D bandwidth allocation message to at least one D2D UE within the D2D network to enable the at least one D2D UE to determine when bandwidth is allocated for the at least one D2D UE to communicate with another D2D UE in the D2D network, as in block 840. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry can be configured to receive data from a D2D transmitter UE. In another embodiment, the UE is operable to communicate in a D2D radio access network 1 (RAN1).

Another example provides functionality 900 of computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 9. The functionality can be implemented as a method or the functionality can be executed as instructions on a machine, where the instructions are included on at least one computer readable medium or one non-transitory machine readable storage medium. The computer circuitry can be configured to transmit a D2D bandwidth allocation request to a D2D coordinator UE, as in block 910. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry may comprise of a transceiver, a transmitter, or a receiver. The computer circuitry can be further configured to receive a D2D bandwidth allocation message from the D2D coordinator UE, as in block 920. The computer circuitry can also be configured to transmit data from the UE to an other D2D UE at a selected time based on information received in the D2D bandwidth allocation message, as in block 930.

In one embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to transmit the data from the UE to the other D2D UE using a selected power level and for a selected duration of time based on the D2D bandwidth allocation message. In another embodiment, the D2D bandwidth allocation message includes a resource allocation starting point to indicate when to begin transmitting data from the UE to the other D2D UE. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to initiate a sleep mode after receiving the D2D bandwidth allocation message, transmit data to the other D2D UE in the D2D network when the resource allocation starting point is reached, and reinitiate the sleep mode after transmitting the data to the other D2D UE in the D2D network.

In one embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to establish a link between the UE and the other D2D UE and receive a distinct CID for the link. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to establish links with a plurality of other D2D UEs and identify each link based on the CID. In one embodiment, the D2D bandwidth allocation request includes a distinct CID for a link between the UE and a D2D receiver UE and/or a size of a D2D bandwidth allocation. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to map the CID to a selected priority level for the UE.

In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to randomly determine the selected priority level for the UE. The randomly determined selected priority level can be determined by each D2D UE distributively, where each D2D UE uses the same algorithm for determining and mapping the priority level to ensure that each D2D UE is aware of the priority levels of other D2D UEs in the D2D network. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a reference signal from the other D2D UE during an allocation period received from the D2D coordinator UE. The reference signal can be used for channel estimation, timing synchronization, frequency synchronization, power control, link adaptation, or MIMO feedback. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to transmit data from the UE to a plurality of other D2D UEs at a selected time, for a selected time duration, or on a selected channel based on information received in the D2D bandwidth allocation message.

Another example provides functionality 1000 of computer circuitry of a UE operable to communicate in a D2D network, as shown in the flow chart in FIG. 10. The functionality can be implemented as a method or the functionality can be executed as instructions on a machine, where the instructions are included on at least one computer readable medium or one non-transitory machine readable storage medium. The computer circuitry can be configured to receive a D2D bandwidth allocation message from a D2D coordinator UE, as in block 1010. The computer circuitry can be further configured to identify reception information for receiving data from another D2D UE in the D2D network using the bandwidth allocation message, as in block 1020.

The computer circuitry can also be configured to receive the data from the other D2D UE using the reception information, as in block 1030.In one embodiment, the reception information includes a selected channel or a time duration for receiving the data. In one embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a D2D coordinator selection assignment from a D2D coordinator UE or an eNB. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to initiate a sleep mode after receiving the D2D bandwidth allocation message, receive data from the other D2D UE in the D2D network at a resource allocation starting point, and reinitiate the sleep mode after receiving the data from the other D2D UE in the D2D network. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a feedback signal from the other D2D UE during the time period, wherein the feedback signal includes a channel estimation, a timing synchronization, a frequency synchronization, a channel quality indication, a power control, a link adaptation, or a MIMO feedback. In another embodiment, the computer circuitry is further configured to establish n link between the UE and the other D2D UE and receive a distinct CID for the link.

FIG. 11 provides a flow chart 1100 to illustrate a method for coordinating D2D communication. The method can comprise receiving a D2D coordinator selection assignment at a D2D coordinator UE, as in block 1110. The method can further comprise receiving a D2D bandwidth allocation request from a plurality of D2D Tx UEs at the D2D coordinator UE, as in block 1120. The method can also comprise scheduling a bandwidth allocation for each of a plurality of D2D UEs, as in block 1130. The method can also comprise communicate a D2D bandwidth allocation message to the plurality of D2D UEs within the D2D network, as in block 1140.

In one embodiment, the D2D bandwidth allocation message enables the plurality of D2D UEs to determine the bandwidth allocation for each of the D2D UEs to communicate with at least one other D2D UE in the D2D network. In another embodiment, the size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for a D2D UE in the plurality of D2D UEs is different than a size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for another D2D UE of the plurality of D2D UEs. The size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for the D2D UE can be variable. In another embodiment, the method further comprises scheduling more than one of the plurality of D2D UEs for a substantially same bandwidth allocation using spatial reuse. In one embodiment, the method further comprises scheduling a bandwidth allocation for each of a plurality of D2D UEs based on a priority level of each bandwidth request. In another embodiment, the method further comprises synchronizing a time and/or frequency of the plurality of UEs with an enhanced node B (eNB) or the D2D coordinator UE. In another embodiment, the method further comprises selecting a D2D UE to be a next D2D coordinator UE after a selected period of time has lapsed and transmitting a D2D coordinator UE assignment to the selected D2D UE. The selected period of time may be a coordinator duty time or duty cycle.

FIG. 12 provides an example illustration of the wireless device, such as a user equipment (UE), a mobile station (MS), a mobile wireless device, a mobile communication device, a tablet, a handset, or other type of wireless device. The wireless device can include one or more antennas configured to communicate with a node or transmission station, such as a base station (BS), an evolved Node B (eNB), a baseband unit (BBU), a remote radio head (RRH), a remote radio equipment (RRE), a relay station (RS), a radio equipment (RE), a remote radio unit (RRU), a central processing module (CPM), or other type of wireless wide area network (WWAN) access point. The wireless device can be configured to communicate using at least one wireless communication standard including 3GPP LTE, WiMAX, High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Bluetooth, and Wi-Fi. The wireless device can communicate using separate antennas for each wireless communication standard or shared antennas for multiple wireless communication standards. The wireless device can communicate in a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN), and/or a WWAN.

FIG. 12 also provides an illustration of a microphone and one or more speakers that can be used for audio input and output from the wireless device. The display screen may be a liquid crystal display (LCD) screen, or other type of display screen such as an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display. The display screen can be configured as a touch screen. The touch screen may use capacitive, resistive, or another type of touch screen technology. An application processor and a graphics processor can be coupled to internal memory to provide processing and display capabilities. A non-volatile memory port can also be used to provide data input/output options to a user. The non-volatile memory port may also be used to expand the memory capabilities of the wireless device. A keyboard may be integrated with the wireless device or wirelessly connected to the wireless device to provide additional user input. A virtual keyboard may also be provided using the touch screen.

Various techniques, or certain aspects or portions thereof, may take the form of program code (i.e., instructions) embodied in tangible media, such as floppy diskettes, CD-ROMs, hard drives, non-transitory computer readable storage medium, or any other machine-readable storage medium wherein, when the program code is loaded into and executed by a machine, such as a computer, the machine becomes an apparatus for practicing the various techniques. In the case of program code execution on programmable computers, the computing device may include a processor, a storage medium readable by the processor (including volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements), at least one input device, and at least one output device. The volatile and non-volatile memory and/or storage elements may be a RAM, EPROM, flash drive, optical drive, magnetic hard drive, or other medium for storing electronic data. The base station and mobile station may also include a transceiver module, a counter module, a processing module, and/or a clock module or timer module. One or more programs that may implement or utilize the various techniques described herein may use an application programming interface (API), reusable controls, and the like. Such programs may be implemented in a high level procedural or object oriented programming language to communicate with a computer system. However, the program(s) may be implemented in assembly or machine language, if desired. In any case, the language may be a compiled or interpreted language, and combined with hardware implementations.

It should be understood that many of the functional units described in this specification have been labeled as modules, in order to more particularly emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom VLSI circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices or the like.

Modules may also be implemented in software for execution by various types of processors. An identified module of executable code may, for instance, comprise one or more physical or logical blocks of computer instructions, which may, for instance, be organized as an object, procedure, or function. Nevertheless, the executables of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may comprise disparate instructions stored in different locations which, when joined logically together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose for the module.

Indeed, a module of executable code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed over several different code segments, among different programs, and across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and illustrated herein within modules, and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set, or may be distributed over different locations including over different storage devices, and may exist, at least partially, merely as electronic signals on a system or network. The modules may be passive or active, including agents operable to perform desired functions.

Reference throughout this specification to “an example” means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the example is included in at least one embodiment of the present invention. Thus, appearances of the phrases “in an example” in various places throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment.

As used herein, a plurality of items, structural elements, compositional elements, and/or materials may be presented in a common list for convenience. However, these lists should be construed as though each member of the list is individually identified as a separate and unique member. Thus, no individual member of such list should be construed as a de facto equivalent of any other member of the same list solely based on their presentation in a common group without indications to the contrary. In addition, various embodiments and example of the present invention may be referred to herein along with alternatives for the various components thereof. It is understood that such embodiments, examples, and alternatives are not to be construed as defacto equivalents of one another, but are to be considered as separate and autonomous representations of the present invention.

Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of layouts, distances, network examples, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the invention. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the invention can be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, layouts, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of the invention.

While the forgoing examples are illustrative of the principles of the present invention in one or more particular applications, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that numerous modifications in form, usage and details of implementation can be made without the exercise of inventive faculty, and without departing from the principles and concepts of the invention. Accordingly, it is not intended that the invention be limited, except as by the claims set forth below. 

1. A user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in a device to device (D2D) network, having computer circuitry configured to: determine a D2D coordinator selection assignment; receive a D2D bandwidth allocation request from at least one D2D UE; schedule bandwidth for the at least one D2D UE; and communicate a D2D bandwidth allocation message to at least one D2D UE within the D2D network to enable the at least one D2D UE to determine when bandwidth is allocated for the at least one D2D UE to communicate with another D2D UE in the D2D network.
 2. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to determine the D2D coordinator assignment by receiving the D2D coordinator selection assignment from a previous D2D coordinator or an enhanced node B (eNB).
 3. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to determine the D2D coordinator selection assignment based on the UE having the highest priority ranking of UEs in the D2D network.
 4. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to determine the D2D coordinator assignment for a contention.
 5. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to receive data from a D2D transmitter UE.
 6. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to schedule bandwidth for the at least one D2D UE based on a priority level of the bandwidth allocation request from the least one D2D UE.
 7. The computer circuitry of claim 1, wherein the D2D bandwidth allocation request includes: a distinct connection identification (CID) for a link between the D2D coordinator and the at least one D2D UE; and a size of a D2D bandwidth allocation.
 8. The computer circuitry of claim 7, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to map the CID to a selected randomly determined priority level for the at least one D2D UE.
 9. A user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in a device to device (D2D) network, having computer circuitry configured to: transmit a D2D bandwidth allocation request to a D2D coordinator UE; receive a D2D bandwidth allocation message from the D2D coordinator UE; and transmit data from the UE to an other D2D UE at a selected time based on information received in the D2D bandwidth allocation message.
 10. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to transmit the data from the UE to the other D2D UE using a selected power level and for a selected duration of time based on the D2D bandwidth allocation message.
 11. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: initiate a sleep mode after receiving the D2D bandwidth allocation message; transmit data to the other D2D UE in the D2D network when a resource allocation starting point is reached; and reinitiate the sleep mode after transmitting the data to the other D2D UE in the D2D network.
 12. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: establish a link between the UE and the other D2D UE; and receive a distinct connection identification (CID) for the link.
 13. The computer circuitry of claim 12, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to establish links with a plurality of other D2D UEs and identify each link based on the CID.
 14. The computer circuitry of claim 12, wherein the CID is for a spatial reuse pair of UEs.
 15. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the D2D bandwidth allocation request includes: a distinct connection identification (CID) for a link between the UE and a D2D receiver UE; and a size of a D2D bandwidth allocation.
 16. The computer circuitry of claim 15, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to map the CID to a selected randomly determined priority level for the UE.
 17. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: receive a reference signal from the other D2D UE during an allocation period received from the D2D coordinator UE; and use the reference signal for channel estimation, timing synchronization, frequency synchronization, power control, link adaptation, or MIMO feedback.
 18. The computer circuitry of claim 9, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: transmit data from the UE to a plurality of other D2D UEs at a selected time, for a selected time duration, or on a selected channel, based on information received in the D2D bandwidth allocation message.
 19. A user equipment (UE) operable to communicate in a device to device (D2D) network, having computer circuitry configured to: receive a D2D bandwidth allocation message from a D2D coordinator UE; identify reception information for receiving data from another D2D UE in the D2D network using the bandwidth allocation message; and receive the data from the other D2D UE using the reception information.
 20. The computer circuitry of claim 19, wherein the reception information includes a selected channel or a time duration for receiving the data.
 21. The computer circuitry of claim 19, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to receive a D2D coordinator selection assignment from a D2D coordinator UE or an enhanced node B (eNB).
 22. The computer circuitry of claim 19, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: initiate a sleep mode after receiving the D2D bandwidth allocation message; receive data from the other D2D UE in the D2D network at a resource allocation starting point; and reinitiate the sleep mode after receiving the data from the other D2D UE in the D2D network.
 23. The computer circuitry of claim 19, wherein the computer circuitry is further configured to: receive a feedback signal from the other D2D UE during the time period, wherein the feedback signal includes a channel estimation, a timing synchronization, a frequency synchronization, a channel quality indication, a power control, a link adaptation, or a MIMO feedback.
 24. A method for coordinating device to device (D2D) communication, comprising: receiving a D2D coordinator selection assignment at a D2D coordinator UE; receiving a D2D bandwidth allocation request from a plurality of D2D transmitter UEs at the D2D coordinator UE; scheduling a bandwidth allocation for each of a plurality of D2D UEs; and communicating a D2D bandwidth allocation message to the plurality of D2D UEs within the D2D network, wherein D2D bandwidth allocation message enables the plurality of D2D UEs to determine the bandwidth allocation for each of the D2D UEs to communicate with at least one other D2D UE in the D2D network.
 25. The method of claim 24, wherein a size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for a D2D UE in the plurality of D2D UEs is different than a size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for another D2D UE of the plurality of D2D UEs.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein the size of the bandwidth allocation scheduled for the D2D UE is variable.
 27. The method of claim 24, further comprising scheduling more than one of the plurality of D2D UEs for a substantially same bandwidth allocation using spatial reuse.
 28. The method of claim 24, further comprising scheduling a bandwidth allocation for each of a plurality of D2D UEs based on a priority level of each bandwidth request.
 29. The method of claim 24, further comprising synchronizing a time and frequency of the plurality of UEs with an enhanced node B (eNB) or the D2D coordinator UE.
 30. The method of claim 24, further comprising: selecting a D2D UE to be a next D2D coordinator UE after a selected period of time has lapsed; and transmitting a D2D coordinator UE assignment to the selected D2D UE. 